Cincinnati Holds Off Scrappy Greensboro

NCAA Tournament

Damon Flint Had 18 Points And Seven Assists As The Bearcats Won, 66-61, And Now Will Face The Temple Owls.

March 16, 1996|By Javier Solano of The Sentinel Staff

Cincinnati outlasted North Carolina Greensboro as expected on Friday but not before the Spartans made another statement from a small program.

UNC Greensboro, making its NCAA Tournament debut as the No. 15-seeded team, gave the No. 2-seeded Bearcats fits before falling, 66-61. Junior Damon Flint saved Cincinnati (26-4), scoring a game-high 18 points and seven assists before a crowd of 16,894.

But the Spartans (20-10) of the Big South left a strong impression, much like Princeton and pre-tournament punching bags Colgate and Central Florida.

''The thing we talked about before the game was competing at a high level,'' UNC Greensboro first-year coach Randy Peele said. ''Because I know how hard they compete.''

Cincinnati, outrebounding opponents by an average of 8.5 per game, actually lost the battle of the boards, 39-38. Sophomore Danny Fortson, averaging 23.0 points and 11.4 rebounds in his past five games, was held to 10 points - his lowest output since the second game of the season.

And would you believe the rugged Bearcats, the same bunch outmuscling and outworking opponents all season toward a fifth consecutive conference title, were crying foul after the game.

''Holding, grabbing, laying on my back - that's what they were doing,'' Fortson said. ''They did a good job of not letting our guards see me open in the post.''

UNC Greensboro sent 6-foot-8 seniors Brian Brunson and Eric Cuthrell to harass Fortson, with guard Scott Hartzell dropping down from the top of the zone to provide more help inside.

Cincinnati tried to beat the zone in transition but was effective only early, running out to a 19-7 lead thanks to some sparkling open-court moves by Flint. But UNC Greensboro stayed close with four 3-pointers in the next five minutes, three from Hartzell.

The Bearcats led, 37-29, at halftime and threatened to pull away several more times in the second half. They held the Spartans to one score in their first nine possessions, opening up the game's biggest lead at 46-32 before UNC Greensboro scored the next nine points.

Bearcats Melvin Levett and Darnell Burton came off the bench to hit a pair of 3s in an 8-0 run that put Cincinnati up, 61-48, at 4:14.

But the Spartans came back again, scoring the next seven points and closing to 61-55 with 1:24 remaining after Jonathan Clifton's dunk.

''We've got to guard every play like it's the last play of the game,'' said Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, disappointed with his team's defense despite holding the Spartans to 33.9 percent shooting.

''We let ourselves get screened. We let ourselves get buried,'' Huggins said. '' . . . We let them get too many second and third shots.''